New perspective, swing havehelped fuel Allen’s senior rebirth

Michael Allen believes pressure is self-applied, and for many years he was overdosing on the tension of tournament golf. Nerves tended to verwhelm him, particularly on the greens,
sabotaging a natural talent and free spirit who as a teen had
no qualms about rock climbing a 1,500-foot mountain, where
a mistake could be much more costly than a double bogey.

His career was like a business that would have a few
good months, close, re-open in a different location, prosper
for a while but have trouble again. It is a route taken by
many of golf’s journeymen, for whom Allen, who successfully got through PGA Tour Qualifying School nine times,
could have been a spokesman.

The difference between Allen and many other players
who have toiled in anonymity, shooting scores noticed by
only friends and family, is what has happened to him the last
few years. He is older, wiser and, at 53, actually better—now
the golfer to beat on the Champions Tour. The latest evidence
was Sunday’s victory with partner David
Frost at the Liberty Mutual Insurance
Legends of Golf in Savannah, Ga., Allen’s
second consecutive senior win.

He is living up to the potential heshowed when, as a 50-year-old stillcompeting primarily on the PGA Tour,he won the first Champions Tour eventhe entered, the 2009 Senior PGAChampionship. “I played with him thatweek,” said David Eger, “and I was thinking, ‘Stay over on theregular tour, buddy. You don’t need to come over here yet.’Allen’s peers wouldn’t mind if he still had one eye on thePGA Tour given he has 23 top-10s in 43 career seniorstarts. As have other golfers who flourished in theirsecond acts following lukewarm primes—he won the1989 Bell’s Scottish Open on the European Tour and 1998Greater Austin Open on the Nationwide Tour—Allen hasput the pieces of the competitive puzzle together. He hasworked on his body and swing, but the transformationbegan with his outlook.

“You’re not in war, you’re playing golf,” said Allen,wearing shorts on the eve of the Legends of Golf. “It’ssupposed to be fun. If you can get that attitude, it makes it alot easier to deal with. Golf is not this incredibly stressful,terrifying experience that it used to be for me.”Chris Dorris, a friend of Allen’s who is a life coach, gothim to change his attitude in a way Allen’s many sessionswith different sport psychologists couldn’t. “He’s the onewho made me realize this should be fun,” Allen said. “Idon’t have to show up and play tournaments. I’m doing itbecause I want to. That’s a big factor in life, to understandthat it’s an option to have a good time.”Refining his swing under the tutelage of instructor MikeMitchell, Allen has flattened his plane, reduced hip move-ment on the downswing and is taking smaller divots. Hegoes through extensive workouts with trainer Bobby Duvalland believes regular massages aren’t indulgences butrather an essential part of being an over-50 professionalathlete. “Getting someone who is specialized in stretchingand tissue work seems imperative to me,” Allen said.

“You’re not in war, you’re playing golf,” said Allen.
“It’s supposed to be fun. … Golf is not this
incredibly stressful, terrifying experience
that it used to be for me.”

test drive. He won the Senior PGA with a belly model buthas returned to a long putter. “It’s been the best for me,”said Allen, who is ranked sixth on the Champions Tour inputting average this season. “Stroking with one hand, I canonly get half as nervous.”He dearly would love to give the long putter anotherwhirl in a U.S. Open. The national championship is atOlympic Club in San Francisco, where Allen, who grew upin San Mateo, Calif., has been a member since he was 14.When he was 7, he spectated at the 1966 Open at Olympic,collecting Arnold Palmer’s autograph and a few SpaldingDots that had flown the practice range. In 1998 he was firstalternate at Olympic and didn’t get in. The June 4 sectionalqualifier at nearby Lake Merced is a priority. “I’m going tomake sure I’m ready to go and give it my best shot,” he said.“Thirty-six holes is a long walk for an old guy.”During a year of his golf rebirth, it would be only fitting ifthat walk resulted in a spot in the U.S. Open field. n